


Flowers of the Snow

by Danishbooty



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, Angst and Romance, Cold War, Drama, Eventual Romance, F/M, Historical, M/M, Post-World War II, Romance, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2020-10-20 11:54:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20674955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Danishbooty/pseuds/Danishbooty
Summary: Elizabeta is a Major in her homelands' military. After the end of World War Two, the USSR's Red army occupies Hungary. She has no choice but to comply with the Soviet Army. Her squadron is paired with another Soviet one, and she doesn't take too kindly to the Russian commander (Russia x Hungary)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story has been posted on my account over at fanfiction.net-- I just wanted to have multiple platforms to post this story in case I lose it.

** _Chapter 1_ **

_Late October 1946, Budapest, Hungary._

* * *

They were still here.

Why?

She continued to tell herself, every day, that they would leave. It was her mantra every morning. She held her hands behind her back, avoiding eye contact with the giants. Ignoring the cat calls and the unnerving stares, she continued with her morning stroll.

"Don't worry, Elizabeta... They're definitely going to leave tomorrow. No doubt about it." The woman muttered to herself. Surely, she must have looked insane to the average human. But most would understand why.

It had been over a year since the Second World War had ended. During those brutal times, Elizabeta's homeland had fought mercilessly. She was proud of her country and was proud that she was able to lead it through the massive conflict. She had received medals for involving herself in the war campaign, though she never sought to the frontlines. She trained soldiers and had her own small squadron of militia.

But she never wanted to believe the damn Soviets drove those blood thirsty Nazis out. She just couldn't. Even though the Red Army had liberated Hungary, they were bad news. The way they look spoke and acted were red flags in her eyes. But she couldn't do anything about it, the people of Hungary looked to the Soviets as if they were gods.

She wanted to spit at them. They were vile things.

Elizabeta felt as if she knew what repulsive things those Soviets were. She knew what they did. Terrible things.

Slaughter and rape.

Oh, how she wanted to beat each and every one of them to a bloody pulp.

Elizabeta found it quite hard passing those Soviets who lined the streets. To take her mind off of things, she fixed her green military cap that sat atop her brown locks and ran her hands down her Hungarian uniform. Getting rid of any dust and crinkles. She had to look her best in front of the public eye.

Upon reaching a militia checkpoint, Elizabeta noticed how there were more Soviets more than ever. The checkpoint was a small marquee that hovered over two desks. It was easy to spot out of all of the rubble surrounding it. The rubble once belonging to buildings, their remains showed how much hell it had been through during the war.

"Corporal Elizabeta Héderváry reporting for duty!" The woman saluted, announcing her presence at the checkpoint's front desk. The man attending it gave a quick glance towards her before returning his attention down to his clipboard. Elizabeta lowered her salute. What? Was he a Soviet too? "Erm... Helló?" She asked, trying to regain his attention. She frowned knowing that he wasn't going to give her any recognition. Elizabeta huffed before turning away from the marquee. What was going on?

"Elizabeta." A voice beckoned her. She turned to the direction she heard her name. She came face to face with one of her officers.

"Herr Edelstein." Elizabeta bowed, paying respects to someone above her rank and someone she truly admired.

"Please. None of that. I prefer not to be noted as a Nazi anymore. I'm lucky to be alive since I was part of the Nazi regime." The brown-haired man said, raising his hand as a sign to stop. "Please call me Roderich. No need for formalities." Roderich added, lowering his hand.

"Yes, Her— Roderich..." Elizabeta nodded, obeying his orders.

"Eliza. I'm sure you've noticed the number of Soviets has been growing lately. I, for one, cannot disclose why. But I've been told by the higher authorities that we need to work with the Red Army– Apologies they're known as the Soviet Army now." Roderich cleared his throat, noticing his words were catching the eyes of those nearby. "They're our allies now. They have been since they drove out the Nazis." Elizabeta fisted her hands. Oh, how she loathed that even Roderich thought that the Soviets drove out the Nazis.

"They didn't drive out the Nazis! Gil di—" She said, raising her voice. A finger to her lips stopped her from continuing. She received a threatening look from Roderich.

"Nicht jetzt." He muttered. "Nicht mit neugierigen Ohren," Roderich added, he gave her an empathetic look. "Continuing on our discussion. Follow me." He gestured and began walking. "The general has given me the order to let you know that you and your squadron must work with the Soviets. Together as military police."

"Mit?" The Hungarian stopped in her tracks. "I'm sorry... What did you just say, Roderich?" Roderich sighed as he pushed his glasses up against the bridge of his nose.

"I knew this was going to happen." He said, incoherently. "I'm not going to repeat myself, Elizabeta," Roderich said, he turned on his heel to face the woman. "We are going to work with the Soviets. As allies."

"But—"

"Tut tut. We must not bring any more attention to ourselves." He hushed her. Roderich snaked a hand around Elizabeta's waist. "I know, it's going to be hard on you. It's not easy for me either. I hate those damn reds with a burning passion." He whispered as he nudged Elizabeta along with his grip on her. "And I know for damn sure that they didn't drive the Nazis out. But they made a huge hullabaloo out of it." Roderich glanced around at the shattered buildings and empty glass bottles, presumedly to once have held some sort of alcoholic beverage. "Do you understand me now? As much as I hate to work with Reds, we have no choice. You and I have seen what they've done. _He_ would want the best for us." Elizabeta nodded her head, Roderich was right. _He _would want the best for them.

"Have you heard from Ludwig?" Elizabeta asked, seemingly they were on the subject. To her dismay, Roderich shook his head. "I see... I-I'm hoping he's still alive..." She said, feeling anxious about the situation. She cared deeply about Ludwig; he was like a little brother to her. _Brother_... She ruefully chuckled, thinking about that word in her head. Roderich glanced down at his wristwatch.

"I best show you to your new partner." He sighed. Out of a habit, she let out a huff. "I'm sorry Eliza, it's only for a short amount of time. Most of Europe is in an economic crisis. We need to get all the help we need, even if it means from the USSR." The officer informed her. She couldn't help but still pout about it.

"Oh yeah, that reminds me... are you going back to Austria anytime soon?" She asked.

"Well... probably not. Not for a while anyway. Especially if the allies are still there. It'd be bad news if they found out if I was a Nazi." The Austrian answered a hint of melancholy in his tone. Elizabeta sympathetically nodded. She remembered how good it felt when she was able to take off that swastika and burn it. The Hungarian army was spared from any executions as most knew that they had no choice but to follow the Nazi regime. But in Roderich's case...

He joined on his own free will.

Elizabeta knew he wasn't a bad person. But she had no idea what drove him to join the Nazis and she wouldn't dare to question it. Because she knew that Roderich regretted it deeply.

"Major Ivan Braginsky," Roderich said in German, breaking Elizabeta's contemplation. "I am Sergeant Major Edelstein and with me is Corporal Héderváry." He saluted towards the tall soldier standing before them, continuing to speak in German. Roderich nudged Elizabeta to show her respects by saluting him. The soldier seemed to understand German.

The Hungarian stared up at the man. Her body tensed up. Were soviets really this scary close-up? He seemed tall like the trees found in the Amazon. The soldier wore a black coat with medals dotted across his right breast, very much like her own. He wore a black ushanka with a red sickle and hammer in the middle of it. A very common dress code among the Soviets. But this certain soldier seemed more intimidating than most. Perhaps it was the piercing mauve eyes he had or the pale skin or his beige coloured hair? Perhaps it was all three.

"Elizabeta!" Roderich hissed, finally gaining her attention. "Gruß, goddamnit." He added. She immediately obliged, saluting towards the tall Russian. The Russian returned a nonchalant salute with a small chuckle.

"At ease, Sergeant. Corporal." The Russian nodded, a serious look returning to his face. "May I help you?" He questioned. His words were mixed with a heavy Russian accent, it was quite hard to understand the German he was speaking. It didn't help that his voice very was quite deep and hoarse.

"I have been informed that your small soviet militia will be working with our Hungarian military police." Roderich began. "I'm here with the Hungarian Military Police commander." He motioned a hand over to Elizabeta, whom in a fit of panic saluted to the scary Russian once again.

Major Braginsky stood there with a confused look switching gazes with both the soldiers standing before him. "Izvinite chto?" He blinked, before registering what was happening. He began laughing. Roderich and Elizabeta shared a puzzled look. "I am terribly sorry... I just found your joke extremely funny." Major Braginsky said as he finally settled down from his laughing fit.

"Whatever do you mean? I never told a joke, Major." Roderich raised a brow, still muddled about the situation.

"The joke is that you have a woman leading the Hungarian Military Police. That's hilarious. A woman leading something? Never have I heard that!" He giggled just thinking about it.

"How dare you!" Elizabeta shouted. Her face turning red out of anger.

"The woman speaks German... Hmm, impressive." The major said, his sharp violet eyes met with her forest green ones.

"I am no woman. I am a corporal to you, scum." She hissed at the Soviet, in which she earned a warning glare from Roderich.

"Major Braginsky and Corporal Héderváry!" Roderich shouted, both soldiers turned their attention to the Sergeant Major. "Please keep this as professional as possible. Set aside differences, we are allies now." He informed them, fixing his cravat after raising his voice. "We don't want to gain the attention of others." He said, motioning at the crowd of eyes watching them. The eyes seemed to turn away once Major Braginsky glared at them. "As I was going to explain... Corporal Hédeváry is the leader of the military police. And you two are going to work together. This is an order from both of your commanders." Roderich lowered his brows and folded his arms, warning them each with his intense stare.

"Yes, Herr Eld— Roderich." Elizabeta nodded with a quick saluted. The Russian glanced at the Hungarian for a spilt-second before saluting towards Roderich, heeding his orders.

"You both will be taking your squadrons and stationing them around the capital. That is all for now." He saluted them. "I'll see you later Elizabeta. Major Braginsky." Roderich tilted his head before walking away.

Elizabeta glared at the Soviet. It was unfortunate they got off on the wrong foot, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to get close with the Russian. Not at all.

"Vnimaniye!" The major suddenly shouted, causing Elizabeta to jump. She soon found herself surrounded by Soviet soldiers. Elizabeta tensed up and subconsciously scooted closer to the major. Ivan began to talk quickly in a different language, most likely Russian. Elizabeta couldn't make out a single word, she was only fluent in German and Hungarian. She knew some English, but her skill wasn't good enough to speak full sentences. Ivan was still speaking quite fast and aggressively, his men stood there, stiff and emotionless. It was quite eerie.

"Now. Corporal... Hédeváry." He seemed to say her name with hesitance, either out of difficulty or spite. Elizabeta knew it was the latter. "Your men are where?" Ivan asked, noticing her small group of militia was nowhere to be found.

"My men are already stationed." She answered sharply. "I have already told them where to be on duty."

"Chto? Excuse me?" Ivan said quite flabbergasted, staring down at the woman. "Are we not supposed to plan together where to station our men?" He questioned.

"Oh, for god's sake. How was I supposed to know I was going to pair up with you Soviets? I planned where to station my men weeks prior to today." Elizabeta shot back at him.

"You soviets, what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ivan growled, his stare turning into a cold glare.

"It means what it means." She said, turning her head away and folding her arms. Both leaders stood in silence. Ivan's small squadron watched the two bicker and stood in confusion. Most not understanding German, the two use to communicate with.

"Fine. Show me where you've stationed your men."


	2. Chapter 2

** _Chapter 2_ **

_Late October 1946, Budapest, Hungary._

* * *

"And, that's the last of my men." Elizabeta drawled out, motioning over to a small squadron of military police just a few metres away. The Russian Major order the rest of his men to meet up with the military police idly standing around. The two different soldiers seemed to get along with each other, but that couldn't be said for the commanders of the two different squads.

"So, What do you do, Miss commander?" She heard the Russian chuckled. Elizabeta glared up at the tall Russian, his mockery not amusing to her.

"I patrol around the city, thank you very much." Elizabeta frowned, crossing her arms in front of her chest. The two walked side by side.

"Is that all?" Ivan asked, genuinely wondering if that was her job. Elizabeta slowly nodded.

"I suppose so...? There's nothing much we can do. The war just ended, we're trying to fix our cities that got destroyed and fix our failing economy. Hell, every country that fought in the war is trying to fix the inflation that's happening to their economy..." She babbled on. Ivan examined his surroundings as the Hungarian went on a little tangent about the failing economy.

The town's remains were in a dump, everything was crumbled down. Only a few buildings and houses made it through the spitfire of the war. He was glad that the war didn't fully come into his country, although it was quite a scare when the Germans wound up in Stalingrad. He shuddered when he replayed the horrors of the war.

"Hey, are you seriously cold?" Elizabeta asked, noticing the male shiver. "You seem to be nice and toasty in that coat and scarf of yours..." She gave a quick up-down glance of the man's uniform. He definitely looked like he was nice and warm in that. Whereas she was freezing, her green uniform was a terrible material not fit for the colder seasons. Though her leather gloves kept her hands somewhat warm.

Elizabeta sighed to herself when the other didn't answer her. The two certainly did not get off on the right foot.

* * *

It had been only a couple of minutes of the two aimlessly walking around the Hungarian capital. Though it felt like hours to them.

Elizabeta wanted to strike a conversation but was a bit anxious. Instead, she fidgeted.

"How do you know Sergeant Major Edelstein?" Ivan asked, getting annoyed at the extreme awkwardness between the two.

"Roderich? Oh, he's a family friend. I grew up with him." She replied. Why on earth would Ivan be interested in Roderich?

"Hm... I see." He muttered. Elizabeta looked up at the Russian he seemed to be contemplating something.

"So how old are you?" Elizabeta asked, trying to keep a conversation going.

"I'll be turning 25 in a few months." He answered. "How about yourself?" Ivan turned to face Elizabeta.

"I turned 24 at the beginning of the year," Elizabeta responded. "Wow, you were only 17 when you joined the army then?"

"Yes, I was. But you were quite young yourself, no? You were only 16? How were you even able to join the army?" Ivan seemed to have a surprised look on his face.

"Yep, I was 16. It wasn't really that hard to enlist..." She nodded. "My parents knew a lot of people and the majority of those people joined the army. They covered for me when I enlisted, I'm grateful for that." Elizabeta smiled softly, thinking back to the early years of her joining the army.

After the small spurt of conversing, the two were left to walk in silence once again. Ivan had spotted a bench not too far away.

"Mind if we take a seat?" He asked politely, motioning over to the bench. They both headed over to it when Elizabeta complied.

"Your job... being a military police commander. Is this all you do? Station your men and then patrol for the rest of the day?" The Russian asked.

"Well... yes, basically. Though it may seem boring it really isn't." She replied, almost offended that Ivan had implied her job was boring. "Sometimes I get reports that I have to file and some important paperwork that I fill out. I have to train recruits and newbies, though we haven't gotten many after the war had ended. And sometimes I have to help some civilians. But it's great getting to know your squad and fellow citizens." Elizabeta informed the other. Ivan nearly chortled at the lecture that she was giving him.

"kak skuchno..." He muttered under his breath. Though he couldn't complain, being on the frontlines was frightening and he wouldn't want to experience something like that again.

"What do you do as a Major then?" Elizabeta asked, ignoring the small comment.

"I'm not too sure myself. I was only given the title recently. Before that, I was just a private." He looked out wistfully.

"Holy hell. You climbed the ranking ladder pretty far..." She murmured.

"Well... I was the only one in my squad to survive the battle of Stalingrad." He replied with a soft tone of voice. Elizabeta stayed quiet.

"Oh. I'm... I'm sorry to hear that." She said quietly whilst twiddling her thumbs, not knowing what to say

"Thanks, I guess, but I didn't take this job to get your sympathy," Ivan said with a stern tone of voice.

"Look I was offering my sympathy! You can take it or leave!" She frowned, raising her voice. She was trying to be nice towards him to try and rekindle their already broken relationship.

"Yeah okay, whatever." He rolled his eyes. Elizabeta clenched her fist, trying to restrain herself from punching him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for this chapter... It's basically filler and I hate it lol


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

_Early November 1946, Budapest, Hungary._

"He's a despicable man, Roderich!" Elizabeta yelled, throwing her beret onto the nearby table. "At times I wanted to strangle him right then and there!" She continued to rage on.

"Come now Eliza. You've only met the man. He can't be that despicable." The Austrian tried to reason with her, it's only been a week since the two started working together. The Hungarian paced back and forth in the room, muttering comments about the major.

"Why are they even here?! We don't need their worthless support. They can just... fuck right off!" She slammed her fists on the table. The suddenness of her slam had given Roderick a fright, causing him to jump.

"Elizabeta sit down!" He yelled. He had heard enough of her ranting. "We have some matters to discuss, this is no time to rant and rave about the Soviets." Roderich cleared his throat and gained his composure. He fixed the cravat that hugged his neck and pushed his glasses back on his face. "Are you ready to listen?"

Elizabeta sighed and complied with Roderich's command. "Go ahead." She muttered and crossed her arms. Anger was still present on her face and tone of voice.

"Alright, good. Well there's an upcoming function. I assume it's a celebratory occasion about the Soviets being here in Hungary." Roderich started off, looking down at his papers.

"Why do they need a celebratory function? The war ended two years ago." She scowled, rolling her eyes. She was beginning to lose interest in what Roderich had to say. He cleared his throat in an uncomfortable manner.

"—And I think it would be a good idea if you and Ivan went together." Roderich followed up to his proposal. Elizabeta stood up in haste and slammed her hands on the table once again. Roderich followed in suit and stood up.

"Absolutely not, Roderich!" She basically screeched. "Is this some sick joke to you?!" She turned around and kicked her chair, quietly cussing when it actually hurt her. "This is ludicrous! I refuse! No!"

"Elizabeta! I will not say this again, sit down and shut up!" Roderich barked. She winced and turned around to face her superior. "Show some initiative and grow up! This whole situation is not easy on all of us. So, stop acting like a spoilt selfish child!" He sat down in his own chair and huffed. The Austrian rubbed his temple. This whole thing was giving him a painful headache. He looked up at Elizabeta as soon as he heard her starting to sniffle.

"Roderich..." She sniffled. "Please..." Her voice wavered before she started crying. Roderich sighed deeply before taking his glasses off. He slowly got off his chair and walked over to where his close friend was crying and embraced her.

He loved Elizabeta, he loved her a lot. After all, they had been through hell together. She was like a little sister to him and hated to see her cry and breakdown like that in front of him. He ran his fingers through her hair as she continued to weep, quietly shushing her.

"Roderich..." She croaked. "I... I— this is so frustrating. I hate him and I hate them." She vented.

"I know..." He sighed. "I know..."

* * *

Elizabeta stared down at the cracked road. She wiped her face from any dust or remaining tears. She couldn't believe she broke down like that in front of Roderich. She wasn't the type to cry in front of others.

She shook her head, trying to erase the moments of her breakdown and began to walk home. She didn't live too far from Roderich's temporary office. Which was good, she just wanted to get home and sleep. The sun was beginning to set, and she hated roaming the streets when it was dark. A force of habit on her end. It has only been a few minutes when had started her journey and she already heard footsteps behind her. She frowned. What did this leech want? Her hand snaked down to her holster and settled on her pistol.

"Continue to follow me and I'll shoot you like a dog." She growled, pulling out her gun and slowing her steps.

"I'm not following you." The voice declared, the voice that Elizabeta hated, she put her gun away. "You know other people live around here, Corporal. You're not the only one who lives in Budapest."

"Go eat dirt, Major." She spat. "Te geci..."

The footsteps behind her seemed to falter. He must have arrived at his place of stay.

"Oh Corporal." Ivan called out, Elizabeta stopped and slightly glanced at him, a notion for him to continue. "Me and a few members of my squad will be going to go practice shooting in the morning near the training grounds, if you care to join." He invited her. She frowned, how random. She gave a confused glance at him and continued on her path to her home. "I'll see you at 6:30am sharp!" He yelled out, the invitation sounding more like an order now.

* * *

God she couldn't believe she was actually doing this. She placed her beret on her head and straightened it before walking out of the place she called home. She froze as the cold air landed on her face. She inhaled and slowly exhaled before beginning to walk towards the place she needed to go. Elizabeta scowled, why in the hell was she doing this?

She wasn't doing this for Ivan, she was doing this for herself. She hadn't trained with her gun for a while, so this was a good opportunity. She nodded, that was her reason if anyone asked. Elizabeta sighed when she got to the training grounds, she saw Ivan and his crew setting up some dummies for the training.

"Good morning." She grumbled as she reached the group. Ivan turned around and locked eyes with the smaller woman.

"Dobroye utro." He nodded, acknowledging her. "You made it on time." Ivan said, almost impressed with how obedient she actually was.

"Are you almost done setting up?" She asked, ignoring his remark. She pulled out her beloved gun from the holster on her waist and did a quick check over it, making sure nothing was out of the ordinary and that it was looking it's best. Elizabeta holstered her gun before pulling out a small piece of cloth. She used the soft cloth to tie her long brunette hair into a high ponytail.

"It's all set up." Ivan's deep accented voice announced, walking up next to the smaller woman. Elizabeta glanced at him, her stare holding a fierce amount of malice. The Russian was taken back from her spiteful staring.

"Alright." She grumbled, tugging on the cloth to make sure it was holding her ponytail securely. She walked over to the area where the dummies were set up, in the while pulling her gun out of her holster. The Hungarian rolled her neck, loosening any tenseness she had. She pulled the gun up, aiming at the first target.

Elizabeta sucked in a deep breath, closing her left eye, trying to pinpoint her aim in the spot she wanted to shoot. Her finger pressed down on the trigger and the gun began to cry out, letting its bullets fly. She released five rounds of lead into the dummy. Four bullets had gotten the middle of the dummy's face and the other one had been planted into the dummy's forehead. Elizabeta smirked, proud that she hadn't lost her gunmanship. Her ears twitched as the men behind her seem to let out a few whistles and claps. They were surprised to see that the small woman in front of them was capable of being a good shot. Elizabeta holstered her gun once again and turned around, she still had her grin on her face when she saw Ivan standing there with a stunned look on his face.

"Well? Are you going to shoot next or not, Major?" Elizabeta continued to slyly smile, as she stood next to the tall Russian. Ivan continued to stare at the Hungarian, still in shock. Her piercing green eyes were full of judgement and disdain, he almost felt intimidated as if he did the wrong thing, she would slain him with those captivating eyes. Ivan turned his head away from her gaze. Her captivating eyes? What the hell was he thinking?

Ivan rolled his shoulders and stepped up to the designated spot to shoot the targets. He took off his dark coat and tossed it to the side in which one of his men quickly picked it up and dusted it off. He unbuttoned the top two buttons on his white and rolled his sleeves up. He could feel Elizabeta's eyes burning into his back. Ivan pulled his handgun from the holster that was tucked under his arm. He aimed his gun at the dummy in front of him. The Russian exhaled and let his gun come alive, spraying 5 rounds. He clenched his jaw.

Damn.

His shooting had gone to shit.

Only two bullet holes were present on the dummy, one in the shoulder and one that was just clipping the neck. Ivan holstered his gun. He wasn't a guns type of person anyway.

"Guess I need to do some more practicing again. My accuracy seemed to have had disappeared." He awkwardly rubbed his neck. She was judging him so hard. Elizabeta smirked. She was glad to have beaten Ivan in something so simple. Ivan stood next to Elizabeta, occasionally glancing out of the corner of his eye. "I'm impressed, Corporal Héderváry." He finally spoke up, placing his hands behind his back, watching his men begin their turns.

"I don't do tutoring, but if you're willingly to pay I might think about it." Elizabeta said with a smug tone. Ivan furrowed his thick brows, feeling insulted.

"I would never take lessons from a woman, especially gun lessons." He grumbled, putting his coat back on. Elizabeta clenched her fists. If Ivan's men weren't here, she would've taken him down. He cleared his throat. "As you probably know. There is a celebratory function happening this coming month. And..." Ivan faltered off. Elizabeta looked up at him, surprised he dare ask about it just after their little quarrel. "Would you consider going with me? As my date for the night?" He met with her intense gaze.

"If I wasn't being forced into this, I would've said no and spat in your face, but I have no choice in this matter." She whipped her face away and crossed her arms. "Fine."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

_Early November 1946, Budapest, Hungary_

* * *

“Are you sure you aren’t going to eat anything?” Elizabeta spoke up as she noticed that Roderich had been sipping on his single cup of tea for the duration of their lunch together. “You can have a piece of my Palacsinta.” She offered, picking up her cutlery to cut a piece for Roderich.

“I’m fine, Elizabeta.” His eyes stayed preoccupied on the documents he was reading over. Elizabeta’s eyes drifted over Roderich’s thin and pale face. His eyes intently focused on reading.

“You remind me of Ludwig.” She blurted out. She regretted saying that as soon as Roderich diverted his violet eyes from his important documents and made eye contact with her. He was visibly upset. “You prefer your work over necessary needs…” Elizabeta added, seemingly Roderich was waiting for her to continue.

“Germans and Austrians tend to be hardworking.” He picked up the porcelain cup and took a small sip. Elizabeta sighed.

“Do you think he’s still alive?” She meekly asked. Why was she bringing up Ludwig suddenly? She knew Roderich wouldn’t like it. Roderich placed his cup down on the table with a loud slam. His thin brows were furrowed whilst the documents he was holding were crinkling under his grip. He seemed to be holding back his anger.

“I don’t know, Elizabeta.” He drawled out in a frustrated sigh. “Do you think he is?” The Austrian questioned. Elizabeta leaned back into her chair, staring at her half-eaten Palacsinta. Did she think Ludwig was still alive? Her gut twisted anxiously, only one answer coming to her mind.

He most likely wasn’t.

Even though her gut was telling her that Ludwig was not alive, a small part of her heart hoped. He was a smart kid with a bright future. She wanted to know why. Why did he join the SS? Her green eyes flickered over to Roderich’s face once again. Why did Roderich join the SS? Her eyes moved to the cracked pavement. Why did _he _join the SS? She let out a melancholic sigh and turned her head away from the table. Looking at the food she was eating made her feel sick.

“Don’t depress yourself thinking about Ludwig,” Roderich spoke up. “I’ve got some good news.” He placed a letter in front of the Hungarian woman. She gingerly picked up the paper and glanced suspiciously at Roderich. “Read it.” A small smirk was present on his face. Elizabeta began to read the note as instructed. Her mouth slowly curved up into a bright smile the further she perused. By the end of the letter, she was practically in tears.

“Feliciano and Lovino are still alive!?” She shouted in joy. She slowly stood up and read over the letter again to make sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her. “Oh my god!” Elizabeta looked over at Roderich, whose small smirk had evolved into a large smile.

“Isn’t that amazing?” He chuckled, standing up as well. “They made it safely back to Italy.” Elizabeta jumped onto Roderich, tightly hugging him. He returned the hug.

“Oh my god!” She continued to repeat over and over, happy tears streaming down her face. She let go of the frail Austrian and wiped away the tears, looking back down at the letter before bringing it close to her chest. This gave her hope. Hope that there was good in the world. Hope that miracles could happen. Hope that Ludwig… could still be alive. She gave the letter back to Roderich and sat back down in her chair. She started eating the rest of her Palacsinta, feeling so much emotion she had regained her appetite. “We should go visit them sometime!” Elizabeta gasped, the idea suddenly popping up in her head.

“That would be lovely.” Roderich fixed his glasses and nodded, approving of the said idea. “It may be a few months or so before that though. I have to get the travel and our ID documents organised. And we’ll have to see if they would be okay with us visiting them.” He added, keeping the idea realistic.

“Mmpf! Mayhf we ‘an mtop oper in Mustria!” Elizabeta tried to speak whilst her mouth was full of food.

“Eat what is in your mouth before you speak, Eliza.” Roderich scolded in a soft way. She scrunched her face up, trying to finish the food as fast as possible.

“I said, maybe we should stopover in Austria! If we actually go to Italy.” She suggested. “It’ll give you time to collect some stuff that you wanted to get.” Elizabeta continued. Roderich thought to himself for a moment.

“I’ll add that to the drawing board.” He grabbed a spare piece of paper and began jotting down some notes and reminders. Roderich dug in the pocket of his vest, fishing out his old pocket watch. “It’s almost two o’clock… Shouldn’t you be rendezvousing with Major Braginsky soon?” He placed his watch back in his pocket. Elizabeta scowled at the mention of Ivan. “I’m assuming you two still have a sour relationship?” Roderich pried, knowing that Elizabeta deeply loathed the major.

Elizabeta huffed, slouching back into her chair once again. “Yes…” She ran her fingers through her hair. “We don’t bicker as much but…” She sighed as she trailed off. Just thinking of him exhausted her. The Hungarian looked at her wristwatch before slowly rising from her seat. “I should get going. We have to patrol the city making sure our troops aren’t slacking off, then work on some reports and paperwork.” Elizabeta placed her cutlery neatly on her empty plate and pulled on her coat. She placed her green beret neatly on her head and finally picked up her old briefcase that held a hefty amount of papers. “I’ll see you sometime else this week?” She raised her eyebrow, in which Roderich replied with a nod of his head. She waved goodbye before exiting the picturesque café they were settled in.

She glanced down at her watch once again. She had plenty of time to get to the place where she would be meeting Ivan, so she slowed her fast pace to a stroll. She took in a deep breath. Taking in the smell of gunpowder, dust, and death that seemed to linger in the city.

Elizabeta’s eyes examined the houses she walked past, fishing through her memories seeing if she any recollection of the family that lived there. It was one of her favourite pastimes.

Well, it was her only pastime and she didn’t really enjoy it because it always made her apologetic by the end of it. Apologetic that these people were destroyed by war. Their memoirs, legacy, and dignity gone. Her stroll transitioned into a stop as her green eyes laid on a half-destroyed house. One side was perfectly unaffected, but its opposite was completely obliterated. The house was quaint and welcoming.

Much like the cute old couple that use to live in it.

She had fond memories of that couple, they were lovely people. They loved to dance. Especially to swing and jazz. She missed listening to music. Elizabeta remembered when she was a child and her parents visited the couple for lunch, the sound of upbeat jazz filled the house. Her feet brushing against the fluffy red carpet in the living room as the man danced along with her. They gave her the spark of hope that there was still good in the world. Her mind wondered if they were able to stave away from the war. She prayed that they managed to survive but praying didn’t do much nowadays.

Elizabeta blinked away her tears. This is why she hated remembering these things. She continued on her path to where she was meeting Ivan, keeping her vision straight in front of her, trying not to get side-tracked again. She glanced at her watch once more.

Ah, she was going to be late. Was she really daydreaming for five minutes? Elizabeta picked up her slow walk into a jog. She had arrived at the meetup point. But Ivan wasn’t present.

“Seriously?” The Hungarian huffed. She jogged because she didn’t want to get a lecture about being tardy, but her superior wasn’t there yet? She snorted before crossing her arms as a cool breeze came along. Elizabeta made a mental note to blame Ivan if she ever got sick due to her standing idly outside in the cold.

“Apologies for being late.” Elizabeta whipped her head over to the direction of where the voice came from. It was from Ivan. His chest heaving heavily as if he just ran a marathon. “Were you waiting for long?” He straightened out his uniform and dusted off any dirt that managed to get on him.

“Lucky for you, no.” She replied, unconsciously following Ivan’s action of fixing her clothing and dusting herself off.

“Very well then, let’s get a move on…”

* * *

After nearly an hour’s worth of walking around the city and checking up on their squads, Ivan and Elizabeta were finished with their patrol. They had made their way back to Ivan’s residence.

Ivan fished the key from his pocket and slipped into the lock before swinging open the door to his home.

“Come on in.” He stood by the door and ushered the Hungarian corporal in. She hesitated before making her way into the foyer of the house. The inside of the house was certainly warm and inviting, unlike the owner. The home was small looking on the outside and was equally smaller on the inside. In front of her was a hallway leading to what seemed like the kitchen and a staircase leading to the upstairs part of the house. It was a pretty empty house, which had shown that Ivan hadn’t been living there long. She turned around as she heard the door close and shuffling. Her superior was taking off his dark coat.

“You can hang your coat here if you’d like.” Ivan offered as he hung his own on the old wooden rack. Elizabeta set down her briefcase and took off her coat. Ivan took her jacket and placed it on the rack before picking up the briefcase she had set down and making his way upstairs. Elizabeta followed the Soviet. Walking down the small hallway and into a room. The upstairs was close to what she imagined, nothing special. The room they walked into was painted in a grey manner with some of the paint beginning to peel off, the floor was a deep mahogany colour. A neatly made bed sat in one corner and the other was a medium-sized wooden desk. The desk almost buried in what seemed like important papers. Ivan scurried over to the desk and began hurriedly cleaning up the mess, stuffing the paper in an already overflowing box. “Sorry, excuse the mess. I hadn’t had the time to do some tidying.” He muttered, pulling an extra chair over to the desk and placed the briefcase on the wooden surface. Elizabeta looked at Ivan, slightly confused, before walking over to the chair and sitting down.

“We have a few reports to write-up and go through, so this might take a while.” She spoke up, opening the case up and pulling out a large handful of paper. Ivan sat down next to Elizabeta as she sorted the paper, giving Ivan half from the pile. Ivan pulled out a pen already starting to read through the report, Elizabeta followed suit.

The pair sat in silence, only the sound of pens scribbling on paper filled the quietness. Elizabeta _hated _silence. It gave her unneeded anxiety, maybe she was too used to the loudness of war? Or maybe she was too accustomed to the silence of war? Whatever it was, her mind always raced to the conclusion of war. Her eyes peeped over to Ivan’s face. She wondered if he felt the same. If the silence irked him the same way it did to her. Her eyes drifted over Ivan’s sharp face, carefully studying his every feature. His cheekbones were very pointed and his lips a lively rose-pink, distinguishably thicker than the usual Slav’s. Far away his mauve coloured eyes were intimidating but close up… They were actually very fascinating, shining a brighter and more vibrant colour when in the sunlight. She noticed that Ivan’s thick brows were furrowed, and his eyes were narrowed when reading. Maybe he needed glasses when reading? Elizabeta jumped when he cleared his throat, shifting to grab something. He placed a radio on the desk.

“Do you mind if I put some music on?” He asked, already fiddling with the knobs of the radio. “The silence is unnerving…” He added in a small grumble.

“Go ahead…” She nodded. Her thoughts were right, he didn’t like the quietness wafting in the air. Soon enough the sound of upbeat jazz filled the room. A smile crept onto her face. She instantly felt relaxed and content. Elizabeta sighed and leaned back in her chair, she really missed music.

“You seem to like music?” Ivan’s statement sounding more like a question due to his uncertainty.

“I haven’t listened to it in a long time…” She responded. “It’s refreshing to hear it again.” Her eyes fluttered to a close, taking in the sweet tunes. She felt goose bumps rundown her spine. Her body and mind feeling relaxed just by getting lost in the music, she sighed in content. Ivan looked over at her, softly sighing as well. This was probably the first time he had seen her at ease.

“I would usually listen to classical music but that puts me to sleep when I do my work. Jazz is a good alternative.” The Russian said, returning his gaze to his paperwork. Elizabeta opened her eyes. Ivan liked classical music too?

“I love classical music. It always calms me down.” Elizabeta meekly spoke up. She felt almost ashamed. She couldn’t believe that she had a shared interest with Ivan. Elizabeta caught the man’s look before he looked away with a smirk on his face. Probably scoffing at the thought of them enjoying the same thing.

“Small world…” He muttered, mauve eyes narrowing as he read the small text. Elizabeta sat up straight and continued on with her own work.

She managed to power through a couple of papers before she felt her eyelids become heavy. The radio now playing a soothing jazz song which was basically calling for Elizabeta to sleep. She rested her cheek against the palm of her hand, trying to continue on with her work. She shifted and changed her position so now that her head was resting against the wooden desk. Her vision became hazy and her eyelids finally closed, lulling her off into the dream world.

Ivan had noticed after a few minutes that Elizabeta had stopped writing and that she was resting against the table. He sighed before his eyes raked over her face. The idea of waking her up never crossed his mind. She looked serene and him waking her up would definitely disrupt the peace. He let her be, deciding that she would probably wake up soon.

But he was wrong about that. Ivan had finished his pile of work and Elizabeta still slept soundly. He slouched back into his chair, still staring at Elizabeta. She looked so relaxed yet so uncomfortable. Her position would certainly cause her to wake up to soreness. Ivan walked over to his bed and pulled back the blanket and fluffed up the pillow before walking back over to the desk. He gingerly picked up the sleeping woman and placed her on the bed. He pulled the covers over her and gently tucked her in. Ivan looked at her once again before brushing the hair out of her face. It looked like it was annoying her.

“Sladkiye Mechty…” He mumbled, moving back to the desk. He lit up a lantern and grabbed Elizabeta’s pile of paper. If they didn’t get it done tonight, they would have to probably finish it tomorrow and he didn’t really want to do work on his day off.

* * *

Elizabeta shifted, snuggling into the warm cover. She inhaled deeply a familiar but strange scent filled her nostrils, causing her eyes to snap open. She quickly sat up realising this wasn’t her bed. Anxiety building up in her stomach. Her eyes darted around the room before registering that this was Ivan’s room.

_Ivan._

Her eyes landed on her superior who was sleeping deeply, his head resting on the desk. She remembered falling asleep over there but had no recollection of getting into a bed. Specifically, Ivan’s. The anxiety that was in her stomach slowly went away as she realised, she was no longer in any danger. Slowly she got out of bed, still being half asleep and not wanting to wake up Ivan. Elizabeta noticed a neatly stacked pile of paper next to the sleeping male. She picked it up and quickly skimmed through the pages.

Their paperwork was all completed. She looked down at Ivan. Now she felt guilt settling in. Why didn’t he wake up? Why did he do all the work? She frowned, annoyed. Placing the papers back down she let out a huff and folded her arms. Waiting for the annoyance to dissipate. She walked back over to the bed and grabbed the blanket before placing it over Ivan’s broad body.

Elizabeta had silently made her way out of the Russian’s house, slowly making her way back home. She ran a hand through her hair, her mind wandering back to the thought of Ivan placing her into bed and him completing her share of the work. His thoughtfulness pissing her off. Now she had to think of ways to pay him back or else guilt would continue to haunt her.

She twisted open the doorknob and walked into her home. She took in a deep breath. Home sweet home. Elizabeta’s ears twitched at the sudden sound of a loud bang. It came from the kitchen. Her body tensed up. Her mind instantly went to looters. They were scum. Breaking into people’s homes, destroyed or not, just to get their items and hope to sell those said items off to get rich. She slowly made her way to her kitchen, pulling out her gun. Her heartbeat beginning to pick up. She hoped the intruder didn’t have a weapon on them, it would hopefully make this confrontation a lot easier for her. As she inched her way into the kitchen, she saw the body of a man dressed in a dark pale green uniform. The uniform was in terrible condition, dirt and blood mainly covering it. The man slowly turned around.

“Don’t… shoot… Elizabeta…” The man croaked out, weakly putting one hand up. Elizabeta nearly dropped to her knees when she saw the man.

“L… Ludwig?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Ludwig!" Elizabeta gasped, cradling the injured man. Her eyes darted over his figure, trying to figure out what was an open wound and what was just dirt. Her heart was racing, pumping from all of the emotions flowing through her veins. It was mostly adrenaline but there was a mix of happiness, fear, and confusion. She cursed, unsure of what to do. "Ludwig? Stay awake, honey." Elizabeta lightly tapped his cheek, noticing his eyes were beginning to roll to the back of his head. She glanced around the kitchen, trying to figure out if anything would be of use for her. She cursed once again. She had no other choice but to pick him up. "Ludwig, I'm going to help you up and we'll go into the living room and put you on the couch, okay?" Elizabeta told him in which he gave a slight nod. She slowly helped him sit up before she snaked her arm around his waist and pulled his arm around her neck. She began to pick him up from the floor. He let out a string of soft whimpers. "You're doing great, come on." She started to walk from the kitchen to her living room. Ludwig stumbled along with Elizabeta's hurried walking pace, but they had made it to the living room and finally the couch. Elizabeta gingerly helped the younger male onto the couch before she kneeled beside him. She examined him more closely, noticing there were a few spots that were soaking up some fresh blood. "Fuck… Okay. I'm going to get help. I'll be right back." She jumped up and bolted out of her house.

The cold air struck her face, but she was more focused on running and getting help then the cool air. Various thoughts ran through her mind. She was glad Ludwig was still alive, but she was also very scared. Scared that he was close to death. He looked like absolute hell. His once pristine uniform was now covered in dirt and blood. His bright blond hair was now shaggy and dirty. His once healthy face was now thin and dull. She felt her cheeks become wet. All of her emotions began pouring out of her eyes before she fell over some stray rubble. She slowly picked herself up, her body feeling weak. She was scared. Her body tensed when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Elizabeta? Are you okay?" Elizabeta felt her breath get caught in her throat. She looked up and made eye contact with Ivan. The last person she wanted to run into. "You left your coat at my house." He lifted up her coat that was in his hand. "You're covered in blood; do you need help?"

"I- I'm sorry. I'm in a rush. I have to go." She managed to say before beginning her sprint again. She ignored Ivan's shouts and continued towards Roderich's house. Once she arrived, she busted through his front door. "Roderich!" She cried out, jogging through the rooms in the home. "Roderich?! Where are you!?" Elizabeta opened the door to his office. "Roderic-!"

"Elizabeta, what is it?" Roderich jumped up from his desk. "Oh my god, are you okay? You've got blood all ov—"

"Roderich, its Ludwig!"

"…What?" Roderich froze.

"We need to go, he's in my house on the brink of death. We need to go!" Elizabeta began to pull at Roderich's cuffs, urgency in her voice. He quickly gathered some of his belongings and hurriedly ran with Elizabeta out of his house.

"Are you sure it's him?" Roderich panted out, almost dropping his stuff. She didn't answer him. She was sure it was Ludwig. He had said her name to stop her from shooting him. They entered Elizabeta's house. She pointed towards the direction of her living room.

"He's on the couch in the living room." She panted out, wiping the sweat away from her forehead. Roderich nodded before quickly walking to the room. After catching her breath, Elizabeta scurried around her house trying to gather as many medical supplies she could. She heard Roderich sobbing when she stepped into the room.

"It really is him…" Roderich whispered. He was tightly clutching Ludwig's hand as if Ludwig would disappear if he let go. She placed some supplies on the nearby coffee table. Elizabeta let Roderich hold onto Ludwig for a few moments longer. They had a special connection that she couldn't understand.

"We should really patch him up… and get him out of that ratty uniform." Elizabeta placed a gentle hand on Roderich's shoulder, urgency in her voice. Roderich nodded in response, slowly standing up, his gaze never leaving Ludwig's face.

"I'll get the supplies ready. You remove his clothing." The Austrian cleared his throat, regaining his cool and stoic façade, he moved to the table where Elizabeta placed the medical equipment and began preparing them. Elizabeta knelt next to the couch and stared down at Ludwig's sleeping face. She furrowed her brows in pity. His face was contorted in a mixture of exhaustion, pain, and fear. She couldn't even begin to imagine what hell he had been through to get to here. She gingerly placed her fingers onto the first set of buttons on his dirtied uniform, slowly unbuttoning it. She was bracing herself for the infected injuries he most likely will have. She helped him sit up as she slipped the uniform top off before studying his chest. There was one prominent blood patch on his white singlet as well as large patches of sweat marks. Elizabeta's eyes darted back and forth trying to figure out a way to get the sleeves singlet off of Ludwig's without the use of moving his arms before concluding having to cut the piece of clothing off.

"Roderich? Could you pass me the scissors… please?" Roderich complied and shortly handed her the scissors as per her request. She took a deep breath as she readied herself to cut off the singlet. Slowly she began to cut up the middle of the clothing, making sure to avoid any hidden injuries. She stripped the clothing off of the younger male and gently laid him back down on the couch. Her hands began to tremble, and she felt her heartbeat in her throat. Dried blood seemed to cover almost all of Ludwig's chest, it was hard to depict what was the actual injury that caused this mess.

"Here," Roderich spoke up, passing her a wet cloth. She muttered thanks in return, taking the cloth. She began to softly dab the cloth, wiping away the blood. Once Ludwig's chest was mostly clean from the blood, she could tell where his injuries were. One gunshot to his lower left breast and a large gash on his left arm. Both showing signs of infection. His ribs were also protruding, he had lost a lot of weight. She didn't know how he managed to make it all the way here with all these injuries. The bullet still seemed to be lodged in his breast, which meant it was going to be painful to get it out. Elizabeta looked back up at Ludwig, she brushed his long hair out of his face before stroking his head. She looked down at his legs, noticing two bloody patches on his upper thighs. They looked like stab wounds. That answered why he was crawling on her kitchen floor; he couldn't walk properly.

"Is he all cleaned up?" Roderich asked, indicating he was finished preparing the medical supplies. She stood up.

"Yes," Elizabeta responded. "He has a large gash on his upper left arm. A single gunshot to his lower left breast; the bullet is still lodged in there. Both injuries are infected." She informed him. "He also seems to have two stab wounds on his upper thighs. I haven't examined them properly yet. I figured we would work on his chest first and then his legs. Trying not to cause him too much pain. But we also shouldn't wait too long." She added. Roderich was a doctor long before the war began so Elizabeta needed to be precise when explaining Ludwig's injuries and the current condition of them so Roderich had an idea on where to start. He nodded along to every word she was saying as he put on gloves.

* * *

It had been a gruelling four hours of Roderich patching all of Ludwig's wounds up. They were now in the process of trying to get him upstairs and into Elizabeta's bed. It was easier than expected, especially now since Ludwig wasn't the same burly man he was before. Elizabeta quickly opened her bedroom door and helped Roderich carry Ludwig in before lowering him down onto the bed. Elizabeta pulled the blanket over him and caressed his cheek. Hoping his wounds wouldn't get the better of him and that he'll heal quickly. She looked over at Roderich who was dabbing away the sweat from his face, leaning on the nearby vanity. He removed his glasses and placed it on the said desk.

"You did amazing, _Herr Doktor_." She gave a soft smile towards her long-time friend. "He's going to be fine. I'm sure of it." Elizabeta assured Roderich, noticing the anxieties present on his face. The Austrian sat down on the bed, next to Elizabeta. He grabbed ahold of Ludwig's hand. He sighed.

"That's not what I'm fretting about." He admitted, with a shaky voice. "What's going to happen now? It's going to be hard to smuggle him out of Hungary and into Italy. The allies are everywhere." Roderich stroked Ludwig's hand, obviously giving him some sort of comfort. "They're going to figure out we're hiding a former Nazi soldier. Then they're going to find out that I was one."

"But… Didn't you erase all of the evidence linking you to being a Nazi?" Elizabeta asked, anxiety bubbling in her stomach. She didn't even think of the punishments they would receive if anyone found out they were housing a Nazi soldier.

"Majority of it… But not all. I still have documents at home that I've been trying to edit and erase. I mustn't let anyone enter my office." He muttered the last part to himself.

"Shit…" The Hungarian cursed softly. "We should be fine anyway, right? It would be hard to suspect someone of hiding a Nazi soldier without proper evidence. Besides, Ludwig isn't part of the regime anymore so I don't understand why they would kill all of us."

"He knew of important documents and information, Elizabeta." Roderich's voice becoming serious and ire. "And it doesn't matter if he denounces himself as a Nazi, they will still jail him if not kill him." He pinched the bridge of his nose, annoyed. He couldn't expect Elizabeta to understand how the whole '_punishment if you were a Nazi' _would work, she didn't join the regime on her own free will. The corporal stayed quiet, trying to understand.

"I see…" She muttered. "Well… the best choice would be to lie low for a while. Until Ludwig gets better. Then we'll rethink our plan again?" Elizabeta sounded unsure as she tried to read Roderich's face to see if she was saying the right thing. He clenched his jaw.

"Keeping a low profile… That sounds like the best possible option so far." Roderich directed his attention back to Ludwig's sleeping face.

* * *

Roderich exited Elizabeta's house. He was on his way to his own home, wanting to pick up some clean clothes for Ludwig, more medical supplies and some documents for him to retrieve so he could work whilst he looked after Ludwig. They both agreed on taking turns in caring for Ludwig when they had free time. Roderich had the most shifts since his job was more home-based. Roderich's eyes flickered forward as he heard footsteps approach him. It was Ivan, his superior. He saluted towards him out of respect. Ivan saluted back.

"At ease, Sergeant," Ivan responded, clutching onto some papers he had. Roderich eyed the documents, suspiciously. "No need to look so tense, Sergeant. These are just some documents Elizabeta and I worked on together last night." The Russian noticed Roderich's bitter stares right away. "Speaking of Elizabeta. I ran into her earlier today, she seemed to be in a hurry. She had blood all over her. What happened?" He asked. Roderich was almost taken aback, was that concern in his voice?

"She was tending to a wounded civilian that she had found nearby. She was rushing to get me."

"Oh? And why would she do that?" The way Ivan had said that… struck a nerve within Roderich.

"I was a doctor before the war had started." Annoyance present in his voice.

"I see. Well, I hope you fixed that civilian up. I'm sure they will be grateful to both of you for saving their life. Good day, _Herr_ Edelstein..." Ivan gave an eerie smile before continuing his path, whistling.

Shivers went up and down Roderich's spine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews/feedback would be greatly appreciated!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

_Mid November 1946, Budapest, Hungary._

Elizabeta watched as the soup bubbled and brewed. All the vegetables she put in bobbed in the red broth. The smell of spices filled her nostrils, lingering. Her thumb stroked the wooden spoon in her right hand. It had been a week since Ludwig had shown up at her house and had been patched up by Roderich. The entire week Ludwig hadn’t woken up. It was terrifying. Would he ever wake up? Or would he just sleep forever? Would he pass in his sleep? Why? Why won’t he wake up? Elizabeta gripped onto the wooden spoon she held, her knuckles turning white. She was sick of making soup. She was sick of eating said soup. But she had to put up with it, it was the only way of feeding Ludwig. She inhaled a deep breath and exhaled.

She put the spoon into the soup and slowly stirred it. Making sure everything got thoroughly cooked. Her train of thought went off track once again. She looked out her window, the sky was painted with a mix of oranges and reds. It was a calming sight. Her eyes wandered over to her small garden. Another thing she missed doing. She always remembered helping her mother plant all kinds of fruits, vegetables and flowers in that small garden. She missed her parents, deeply. It had been three years since she last seen them alive. Elizabeta stumbled backwards, she placed a hand to her temple and leaned onto the small dining table. Her vision was spinning, and her head was pounding. She felt dizzy and lightheaded. Her eyes squeezed shut, trying to stop the spinning of the room and stop her head from throbbing from whatever caused it. This had been happening a lot recently. It had been hard balancing sleep with work, cooking and looking after Ludwig. She guesstimated of having 3 hours of sleep this week and she hadn’t been eating properly either, she just wasn’t hungry.

“Elizabeta!” Came Roderich’s voice from upstairs. He probably wanted to know how much longer the soup would be or for her to bring up some medical supplies. She rubbed her eyes before hurriedly walking up to her room where Roderich and Ludwig were.

“How are you feeling?” She heard Roderich’s soft whispers. Those were rare, he usually spoke with a cocky tone of voice never gentle whispers. The Hungarian walked into her room. Roderich was on his knees close to the edge of the bed both hands holding onto Ludwig’s left hand. She looked over at Ludwig. His eyes were open. His baby blue eyes were looking around the room in confusion.

“Oh my god, Ludwig!” Elizabeta gasped, rushing over to the bed.

“Eliza…” The German croaked out, a small smile forming on his face. She sat on side of the bed that was empty and threw herself on top of the younger man.

“Careful, Eliza.” Roderich warned, reminding her of Ludwig’s life-threatening injuries. She held herself up a little, making sure she wasn’t putting all of her weight onto the man underneath her. She felt a large hand slide up her back.

“I’m so glad you’re alive, Ludwig.” Elizabeta sobbed, burying her head into the crook of Ludwig’s neck. Inhaling his smell. A wave of nostalgia hit her; heavy tears flowed down her cheeks. The hand that was on her back slowly moved up and stroked her hair.

“Me too…” Came his soft voice. His soft voice made her sob harder; she had never heard his voice be so quiet and enervated. He sounded so exhausted, even after from waking up from a week’s worth of sleep. The amount of hell he would have had to go through just to get here was unimaginable. She lifted her head up and looked down at Ludwig, her hands coming up and cupping his cheeks.

“_Ich liebe dich so sehr, mein kleiner bruder_…” Elizabeta placed a chaste kiss onto Ludwig’s forehead. Her and Ludwig were nowhere near related, but she felt like he was like a little brother to her. She felt inclined now to look after him like he was her own blood especially now since… _He_ was gone. The Hungarian sat up and wiped her tears away before placing her hand over Ludwig’s free hand.

“Do you remember how you got here? You were in such a poor condition; we were surprised you managed to get here alive.” Elizabeta asked, her thoughts now being clouded with a very injured Ludwig nearly on the brink of death.

“Eliza…” Roderich growled, he glared up at her.

“Oh… You don’t have to answer that… I just—” She began, not clicking that this was going to be a sensitive story for both Ludwig and Roderich. It was going to be an emotional topic for her as well, but she knew the story was going to end with a happy ending, since Ludwig was alive and in a stable condition.

“No, no… It’s alright. I don’t mind sharing.” He frowned at Roderich. “Well… I guess it all went to shit when the allies had begun liberating Germany. They rounded all of us up and tried getting information out of us. It was terrible. They were… torturing us.” Ludwig’s voice quietened by the end.

“That’s why you had stab wounds on your thighs…” Roderich mumbled, his head drooped. He was unable to look at Ludwig’s face.

“Yes…” He woefully nodded. “But one night, a miracle happened. I don’t know what exactly happened, but I called it a miracle. Something got the attention of the allies and most of us escaped because of the distraction. It was a quick miracle. They figured out what was going on and they caught up. They started shooting at us whilst we ran into the woods. I somehow managed to dodge majority of their bullets, although some did get me.” Ludwig motioned to his shoulder and chest. “I… I don’t even remember the journey here. It seemed to be a hallucination. I just remembered everything ached. And when I arrived in Hungary, my legs gave way and I had to crawl my way here… To your house.” He looked at Elizabeta. “When I saw you point that gun at me, I thought that was the end.” A rueful chuckle exited his mouth.

“Ludwig… I’m sorry about that. I’ve had looters in my house before and I thought you were one of them.” Elizabeta apologised. If she knew it was Ludwig that ended up in her house, she wouldn’t have even pulled out her gun.

“It’s fine Eliza… You were just protecting yourself.” He looked at her sympathetically. The room went quiet. “Is my brother still here? In Hungary?” Ludwig spoke up. Elizabeta and Roderich both looked at each other. Her stomach twisted and turn, she felt sick. She and Roderich had agreed to not speak about _him_ as it only brought pain and sadness to them but here was Ludwig asking about his brother’s whereabouts so innocently. Not knowing what atrocities Roderich and Elizabeta had witnessed in regard to _him_. They continued to stare at each other asking who was going to speak up about it, before concluding that Elizabeta was going to speak about it.

“Ludwig…” Her voice not any louder than a whisper. This was going to be horrible news to break to him. She stroked his hand as she looked at his face. It contorted with confusion and fear. “_He_… Gilbert… was…” It felt as if her vocal cords were being stretched and tightened; it was hard to speak. Especially as tears pricked at the edges of her eyes. She diverted her eyes away.

“He was executed by the Soviets.” Roderich finished her sentence. His head was still drooped, he couldn’t bare to look at Ludwig. Silence took over the room, the low hum of a car occasionally filled the quietness. Elizabeta looked back at Ludwig. She couldn’t describe the emotion that was on his face. His eyes were dark, almost like his eye sockets were hollowed out.

“I… see…” Ludwig finally spoke, his voice cracking. Elizabeta’s heart ached, it felt awful to break such news to Ludwig. Tears trickled down her cheek.

“I’m sorry Ludwig… I’m so sorry.” She whispered, dabbing at her cheeks to wipe away the salty tears. They all hugged each other for a long while.

The days were getting colder now. Winter was in full swing. It had snowed again last night, and it was quite thick. Elizabeta held herself, trying to trap her body heat. She just wanted to crawl into bed and comfort Ludwig. But today wasn’t the day where she would be looking after him, it was Roderich’s turn. She yawned as she walked to the destination where she would be meeting Ivan. She was extra tired this morning, after crying a lot last night and having little sleep it was to be expected.

“Good Morning.” Came the major’s deep voice.

“Mornin’…” Elizabeta lazily responded, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

“Tired?” He questioned, she nodded. “Seems like you’ve been extremely exhausted lately. What’s keeping you up?”

“Paperwork.” She lied, turning her head away from him as they walked side by side.

“We haven’t gotten that much lately.”

“_Other_… paperwork,” She was getting annoyed at Ivan’s persistent questioning. “Old paperwork I’ve been meaning to catch up on.”

“Right…” The major said, catching onto her ire tone of voice. They walked in silence for a bit “Would you like some help with that?”

“I’m _fine_.” She growled, glaring up at him. “I don’t need help. It’s under control.” This time Ivan didn’t respond. Quietness taking over once again. Elizabeta looked forward, the world was covered in white and it hurt her eyes. She blinked, trying to get rid of the aching. She looked forward again and black dots filled her vision. The Hungarian collapsed to the ground.

“Elizabeta?!”

She felt warm. It was nice. She snuggled closer to the blanket, feeling content and relaxed. Elizabeta slowly opened her eyes, looking up at the white ceiling. The room she was in was loud. She looked over to her right and saw another person. They were covered in bandages. She sluggishly sat up, her brain slowly waking up. She looked out the window, it was dark.

She was in the hospital. How? When did she get here? She clutched her head, it suddenly ached and throbbed.

“You’re awake.” Ivan said. Elizabeta looked to her left and there sat her superior on a chair. “Lay back down, you should be resting.”

“Why am I in the hospital?” She asked, very confused.

“You don’t remember? You fainted when we began patrolling.” He answered. “The doctor said you’re suffering from fatigue.” She rolled her eyes. She didn’t have time to be in the hospital. It was late, she needed to go home and cook dinner for Roderich and Ludwig.

“I can’t stay here.” Elizabeta began to get out bed.

“You have to stay overnight, doctor’s orders.” Ivan stood up, folding his arms and furrowing his thick brows.

“Can’t I rest at home? There’s a doctor already there.” She frowned.

“They have to monitor you.” He sighed, realising she was just going to answer back to everything he was going to say. “Roderich? Why is he at your house?” Elizabeta gulped. Shit. She didn’t even notice she had accidentally mentioned that Roderich was staying with her.

“He… His house is… infested with rats,” She managed to think of an excuse. A very bad one at that. “He’s deathly scared of rats, so… he’s staying with me.” He was not going to believe that. Anxiety bubbled in her stomach, waiting for Ivan’s reply to see whether he believed her lie or not.

“You still have to stay overnight.” He said, acknowledging or ignoring Elizabeta’s excuse to why Roderich was at her home.

“I’m not staying! I have things to do, Ivan!” She raised her voice.

“Like what?” Ivan countered, he looked down at her. His violet eyes felt like they were piercing her soul. Why did she keep digging herself into these holes? She had to quickly think of another excuse, without mentioning that fact she was housing a Nazi soldier.

“I…” She began. “I have to make dinner.” She felt defeated as soon as she said that. Ivan pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh or smile.

“I’m sure Roderich can make something, he’s a grown man.” Ivan sat down on the seat; he had won this battle. “Get back into the bed, Corporal.” She huffed. She hoped Roderich would be fine with having leftover soup from last night and that he would be able to feed Ludwig by himself, without any assistance. She got back into the hospital cot.

“You don’t have to stay.” Elizabeta muttered.

“I’m not.” He replied. “I’m just finishing this last report and I’ll be retiring for the night.”

He seriously pissed her off.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_A few days later_

_Late November 1946, Budapest, Hungary._

* * *

Elizabeta let out an angry huff as she washed the dirty dishes that were littered around her sink. She was irritated, this irritation made her slam the dishes onto each other. She just couldn't believe that Ivan had made her stay in a hospital overnight. Why? Why was he trying so hard to act like he cared? Just why? It frustrated Elizabeta because all she could do was ask why and have no answer. She could ask Ivan herself, but she didn't want to be near him.

"What's the matter, Eliza?" Came Ludwig's deep voice. She placed the dish she was holding down into the sink. She turned around to face Ludwig. He was sitting at the small round dining table, having some leftover soup whilst reading the newspaper. Roderich had gotten Ludwig a pair of crutches from the hospital. Usually civilians weren't allowed to ask for crutches especially during these times but Roderich managed to get a pair due to being a certified doctor. Ludwig couldn't really concentrate on reading the paper when Elizabeta was banging around dishes. The Hungarian twisted the hand towel around, trying to rid of her anxieties and anger through the cloth as well as to dry her hands. She bit her lower lip, wondering if she should even vent her anger to him.

"I…" She began before shaking her head. "It's okay, I'm alright."

"Are you sure? Or are you going to keep banging pots and pans around angrily?" He looked at Elizabeta quizzically, she looked away. Elizabeta sighed. What did she have to lose? Ludwig was a good listener and gave pretty good advice.

"It's Ivan…" She softly said, almost embarrassed that she was angry over him.

"Major Braginsky?" He tilted his head; he had heard stories about this Major Braginsky. Mainly from Roderich, he had referenced him a few times in some of his anecdotes. He knew him and Elizabeta did not have the best relationship, to say it was tense was an understatement. Or so he heard. Elizabeta nodded, confirming that Ivan was Major Braginsky. Ludwig looked at her, expecting her to go on with her rant.

"Why? I just don't understand him!" She finally said, folding her arms.

"Is that it? You're angry because you don't understand him? Not because he's an _arschloch_?" Elizabeta stood dumbfounded. Of course, she was angry over other things! Like…

"He put me in hospital for no reason!"

"Eliza, you fainted. From fatigue." Ludwig fired back. "He was concerned about you."

"Ha! Concerned. I'm sure that Soviet doesn't know a thing about human emotions!" Elizabeta rolled her eyes. "He didn't pay me any attention when I was in hospital!" Ludwig hummed, finally understanding what was happening here, he sat back into his chair.

"I see, so instead he stayed with you until you woke up. Making sure you weren't alone in the hospital." He responded. Elizabeta frowned at him.

"He's done other bad things! Like—"

"Oh, enlighten me, Eliza."

"W-well… For starters he took me to the hospital when I didn't ask! When we worked on some reports, I fell asleep and he did my share of the work! Instead of waking me up, he did my work and put me in his bed!"

"So, he's an _arschloch_ for being considerate?" The Hungarian woman stayed quiet, trying to remember was other things he had done that wronged her.

"He's a misogynist." She said.

"Oh," Ludwig sat up straight. "From what you were saying, he doesn't sound like he hates you. He might be bad at expressing himself or is intimidated by you."

"He's a six-foot Russian, why would he be afraid of me, a five-foot-three Hungarian." Elizabeta looked at Ludwig as if he was silly.

"Ask him, not me." He shrugged. "Are… you the only woman that's in the military force here?" Was she? She was the commander of the MP… The previous one had died during the war, sacrificing himself for the country. She was probably one of the most high-ranking people in the military police in Hungary. Many of the other women were either volunteer soldiers or part of the police force. Majority was nurses.

"I… suppose I am." She never really thought about it. But she was sure there were other women that were part of the military force. A sudden realisation had struck her. Most of them died during the war. There weren't that many women who were part of the military even before the war. Not many women were hired into the military.

"He's probably never seen a woman like you. Strong and independent." He said, finishing the rest of his soup. "That's why he's scared. I've heard the Soviet Union has a very patriarchal society." Ludwig slowly got up, picking up his empty dish. He hobbled over near the Hungarian woman. "Or from what it sounds like, very much head over heels for you." He muttered, placing the bowl and cutlery in the sink. Elizabeta snapped her attention to Ludwig.

"What?" She looked at Ludwig with an intense stare, her whole body felt hot. But she couldn't exactly pinpoint what emotion she was feeling. But it was an emotion that made her body feel hot, her stomach bubbling with fear and… excitement? She looked away. "Don't be ridiculous, Ludwig." Why did she sound so defensive? Why would she care if Ivan had feelings for her? She should feel anger, disgust… repulsed at such a thought. Not excitement.

"What does he look like?" Ludwig began scrubbing away at his dish.

"Why do you want to know?" Elizabeta snapped back, she wanted to stop talking about him. It was like she dug herself into deep holes when discussing him or when she talked with him.

"I'm curious." Ludwig stacked the clean bowl with the others and moved onto cleaning the next dish. Elizabeta began to dry the stack of wet dishes and cutlery. "You said he was six-foot, what else?" The Hungarian frowned before sighing. Damn him.

"Well… He's six-foot. He's got beige shaggy hair; I should tell him to cut it before it gets too long… He's got sharp facial features, very Soviet like. Although his nose is quite round which I guess balances the sharpness out." Her hands trailed over her own features, as if her fingers remembered what Ivan's features were like if she touched her own. "His lips are plump, surprisingly. They're a pretty pink colour." Her fingers ghosted over her lips. "His eyes…" She began, trying to think of ways to describe Ivan's eyes. "Are charming… They're like a thin almond shape, but I think that's from him squinting so much he may need to wear glasses. The colour of his eyes, oh… they're violet but shine like amethysts when in the sun. It's amazing." Ludwig smiled at Elizabeta once she finished describing what the Soviet Major looked like.

"How old is he?"

"I think he mentioned he was turning 25 soon."

"Does he have any interests?"

"I… I'm not too sure. I know we have a shared interest in classical and jazz music." She shrugged. "You're asking a lot of question about Ivan, Ludwig."

"Are you sure you two aren't close? You always refer to him as Ivan and not Major Braginsky. He is your superior is he not?" Elizabeta's body froze, She hadn't even notice she had been calling her superior with his first name. They hadn't established calling each other on a first name basis. She dug through her memories; she had no recollection of Ivan calling her by her first name, but she could recount the times she had used his.

"Oh, _istenem_…" Her mouth was agape, she couldn't believe herself. "No, Ludwig, we're not close at all. I just… occasionally call I- Major Braginsky, Ivan." She tried to recollect herself as best as she could.

"Eliza…" Ludwig cleared his throat. "I am curious… are you sure you don't harbour any feelings for Major Braginsky?" That was the last straw. So many different feelings ran through Elizabeta's blood, her blood boiling once again.

"Don't be ludicrous!" She yelled. "I can't believe you would ask something like that! I do not have feelings for Ivan—Major Braginsky, that stupid Soviet!" She threw the towel on the floor. "Stop trying to insinuate these things! I don't like him like that!" She continued her yelling.

"Okay, okay. I'm so—" Ludwig tried to apologise before Elizabeta stormed out of the kitchen. "Eliza?! Where are you going? I'm sorry!" He called out but it was too late, the Hungarian had picked up her coat and left her house. She was heading straight to the training grounds. The usual place where she would blow off steam. She needed to get this anger out of her system. How could Ludwig think that? She wouldn't dare to have romantic feelings for Ivan—Major Braginsky. And how could he think that Ivan had feelings for her! Absurdity at its finest is what it sounded like. She slowed her trudging. Remembering all the times she had been around Ivan. He was more standoffish when they had first met and had their first patrol together, now he seemed nicer. He did ask a lot of questions regarding herself and always seemed to offer her help. She shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. No! Absolutely not!

She grabbed her handgun out and cocked it. God, she was slowly descending into madness. She felt her brain was beginning to rot away from those stupid thoughts.

"Stop thinking about it, Elizabeta. Stop thinking about it. Stop it. Stop it." She muttered to herself. The brown-haired woman looked up as she heard people talking in the near distance. There was a group of men in the shed which housed the training dummies. They had Soviet uniforms on. "God no…"

"Corporal?" No. "What brings you here?" Asked Ivan. It was just her luck that Ivan was here with his squad. She shook her head, who cares if Ivan was here? Certainly not her.

"What does it look like Iv-Major Braginsky?" Her tone was cold and harsh. Ivan was taken aback from her ire reply. He was used to her cold remarks, but this type of response seemed uncalled for.

"My apologies," He began. "It's just a shock to see you show up by yourself with no squad." Ivan finished. His eyes watch her fiddle with her gun, he was unsure if she was purposely making herself look busy so she could ignore his statement or if she did need to go over her weapon for a quick safety check. He knew which reason it was. "Go ahead." He stepped aside, knowing she would have listened to that. Elizabeta moved to where the designated line was to shoot the dummy. Her brows furrowed as the group of men made a small protest in Russian. Ivan immediately dismissed the hushed cries. Elizabeta couldn't help but smirk at that. She lifted her beloved handgun and exhaled. Her hand squeezing the base of the gun and her opposite finger pressing the trigger. The sound of bullets exiting the gun echoed throughout the shed and then the sound being muffled by the dummies. Gunpowder was now floating freely through the air, invading her nostrils. She took in a large breath, the smell brought back memories. Good memories and bad memories. She exhaled when she had enough of the triggering smell. She stepped back from the line and gestured for someone to take up the position. Ivan did so. He lifted his hand and cocked his pistol. Elizabeta stood at the back of the shed, she wasn't too close nor too far from Ivan. She toyed with her gun once again.

One bullet fired and hit the shed wall with a loud metallic ding.

The second one made her look up. She studied Ivan. She could pick out every mistake he was making when aiming and shooting his gun. She wondered if he was a gun person, because he didn't seem like it. Especially with his slouched posture. She noticed his terrible posture when they had first met. His left shoulder was dipped lowly compared to his right and he slouched slightly. Elizabeta holstered her gun and walked over to Ivan.

"You're missing the targets because of your posture, Ivan." She spoke up, standing next to the tall Russian. He lowered his gun and looked down at her, surprised. "Get into position, like you're about to shoot." She ordered and he complied. Elizabeta stood behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She felt so small against Ivan's broad back and shoulders. It was like a giant wall was placed in front of her and there was no way she would be able to see what was happening on the other side. She pulled his shoulders back to make sure he wasn't slouching. The hard part was trying to fix his left shoulder. She tried to work her hands to make it sit evenly, she was less gentle with his shoulder with each touch.

Ivan whimpered.

Elizabeta stopped. Her body freezing. She had never heard such a sound come from Ivan. She was sure his squad would've been equally stunned to hear their so-called stoic and scary leader wince.

"Did… Did that hurt?" She managed to ask, her hands resting on his left shoulder. He slowly nodded.

"It's my bad shoulder," He admitted. "I was shot there. That's why my posture is so poor." Elizabeta didn't know how to react. She felt… apologetic towards Ivan and she felt guilty. She didn't know that that was the reason he had bad posture. If she knew the reason, she wouldn't had hurt him. She could feel that the muscles around his shoulder were stiff and tense. "I used to be good at shooting a gun. But as you can see… That's a skill I no longer have." She saw a sad smile creep onto his face. She removed her hands from his shoulder. He suddenly seemed fragile, like he would crumble if she touched him again. Seeing Ivan become vulnerable was more horrifying than him looking intimidating.

"Ivan…" Elizabeta didn't know why she said his name. She didn't know what to say. But she felt the need to say something. Before she could continue, a sudden explosion cried out in the distance, the shed shaking from the shockwaves. Everyone dived down to the floor. Ivan had quickly turned around and pulled Elizabeta close to him. He lingered over her as they crouched on the cold concrete floor. One of Ivan's arms hovered over his head, his broad chest was enough to cover her whole body. She felt safe, like nothing could harm her with Ivan protecting her like so. Ivan shouted an order towards his squad and two men crawled their way out of the shed. Probably scouting out the area to see what they could report back. It wasn't a bomb was it? Was the world about to go into war again? How many lives would have to be sacrificed to have the world be at peace?

Elizabeta looked up at Ivan. She looked at his eyes. His mauve eyes. They were thin and cold. But she could see fear tucked away in them. Fear and uncertainty.

Time seemed to pass quickly as the two soldiers had returned and told Ivan what had happened. He had stood up and helped Elizabeta stand as well. She gripped onto Ivan's hand. She looked at him quizzically, waiting for him to relay the information to her.

"A car exploded in the parking lot of the military HQ." He informed her. A wave of relief washed over her. Thank god. She would have had a breakdown if he told her it was a bomb igniting another war.

"No one was injured, right?" More anxiety formed.

"Not of my knowledge." He answered. Elizabeta sighed, that was good. She gathered her thoughts and regained her composure. After the war had ended, some little thing would trigger her to spiral down a hole with anxiety. She saw how bad the world could be in times of war.

"Are you okay?" He asked. "I didn't hurt you when I pulled you close to me, did I?" Elizabeta shook her head.

"No, I'm all right," She said, there were no pains nor stings on her body, so she was fine. "Thank you… for uh… For covering me." He didn't have to protect her, but it was a nice gesture. She looked at their hands, Ivan's large hand engulfing her smaller one. Her face heated up and her stomach felt bubbly. The heat from her face soon enveloped her whole body. Elizabeta quickly took her hand away from Ivan's. "I'll be taking my leave now… uhm…Thanks again." She hid her red face and quickly walked away from Ivan and back towards her house.

This felt so very wrong… yet so right.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N; Sorry for the late delay of this chapter! I got writer's block but I finally got inspired to finish this chapter phew- Next chapter will be the big function, so keep an eye out for that!
> 
> Reviews/feedback is always appreciated!


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